Ok ive been thinking of sharing a story/script with you guys that i wrote for my college essay. It's based in Australia many, many years ago. I got an a* for this.... enjoy !!!!
Trick of the mind.
Characters
1 Shannen.
2 Holly.
3 Hermione.
4 Harry.
5 Michael.
We start our story in a dusty old inn, in the small town of Coober Pedy, in the Australian outback. Our characters are sitting around a rickety table, on part-broken chairs. Talking about a legend that had been going round town for many a year. The legend of the Fountain of Desire.
The legend states that once the smooth liquid of the fountain slides its way down your parched throat, you’re most desperate desires will soon find you. Many men have travelled across the arid desert, many to their deaths, for they would perish in the heat.
(Opening scene: - Shannen is trying to persuade her friends to go on a journey to find the fountain.)
ACT ONE.
Shannen: - “I say we do it, pack up the horses and just go.â€
Harry:- “ But don’t you think it’ll be dangerous, I mean it’s over 360 miles away, and there’s no guarantee the legend is really true.â€
Shannen: - “Oh it’s true alright, my gramps told me so.â€
Holly: - “Oh your ‘gramps’ told you so, so it’s automatically true? Come-on Shannen, he’s not exactly all there lately is he?â€
Shannen: - “That’s not true, and anyway, he’s the smartest man in this town, people just don’t understand him is all.â€
Hermione: - “ Well I believe him, why would anyone risk their own grandchild deciding to go all that way for a wild goose chase, if there wasn’t anything to it. I say the legend is true, and Shannen’s pops wants her to go after her hearts desire.â€
Shannen:-“Thank you ‘Mione.†(Shannen smiles at her friend.)
Michael:-“I think your all nuts, i mean come on, it’s all that way! What happens if we run out of water, or food, or both. What if one of the horses suffers? What if we suffer...?â€
Holly:- “...yea, or die?â€
Hermione:-“Come on Hol’s, we aren’t going to die. If all of us pack our horses with enough supplies we will be fine. I’m with you Shannen, I say we do it.â€
Michael:-“Yes, but what if....?â€
Hermione:-“What if you don’t say what if anymore Michael. Come on you guys, it’s an adventure, or would you rather die in this place never having done anything remotely exciting?â€
(Total silence, while they contemplate this thought, until Harry speaks.)
Harry: - “Well, when you put it that way... I’m in.â€
Shannen:-“Great!! I know you’re in ‘Mione, what about you two?â€
(Short pause were Holly and Michael look at each other, contemplating, then they both nod, then exit to prepare for their journey.)
ACT TWO.
We open with the five friends and their gallant steeds one day into the journey, they have set up camp, and are currently settled down for a night in the desert, in their tents, they are woken by their horses, shrill terrified cries, the sound shocked them to the core but almost as soon as it had begun, the cries stopped, and the group took tender looks out into the desert night, the sight that greeted them was one of utter bloodshed, out of the five horses they had set out with only one remained, and she was currently on her side, on the arid desert floor writhing in pain, Shannen rushed over to her, but gasped at the sight of a huge open wound on her side. Immediately tearing of part of her t-shirt, she attempted to stem the bleeding.
Shannen:- “She’s been bitten!!â€
Holly: - “What? By what?â€
(Holly kneels down by Shannens side and tries to calm the horse by stroking her mane)
Michael:-“Whatever it is, it must have a huge mouth. That bite looks like it’s bigger than our heads.â€
Harry:-“Where are the other horses, we can see for miles but they are nowhere in sight, how is that possible? It’s like they were swallowed by the desert.â€
(He is brought out of his musing by a strangled sob, he turns to the sound.)
Shannen:-“She’s gone, Nugget’s goneâ€
Michael:- “ What are we going to do now? We only have one bottle of water, and a few bits of food left, how are we going to survive on that?â€
Harry:-“It will have to do until we find a waterhole, there is bound to be wildlife near a waterhole, we’ll just have to eat what happens to be there.â€
Michael:-“ As gross as that sounds, it may now be our only option, but for now I say we should get a bit more sleep, it’s a long journey tomorrow, and we only have our feet to carry us, I’ll stay awake, to keep an eye on this place, so whatever took the horses doesn’t take us.â€
Shannen: - “Are you sure? It’s going to be a long day tomorrow?â€
Harry:-“Why don’t you do a few hours then wake me up and I’ll take over?â€
Micheal:-“ok, now go sleep.â€
The group settled down, and all too soon it was morning, sitting up in her tent, Shannen stretched and was disturbed mid stretch by Holly’s voice outside the tents.
Holly:-“Well, were is he then, Harry, did he not wake you last night?â€
Harry:-“No, I’ve only just woke up, i went to ask Mike why he didn’t get me up and he’s nowhere to be seen.â€
(Shannen steps out of her tent and joins the group.)
Shannen:-“Could he have gone of trying to find what took the horses? Do you think?â€
Holly: - “It’s possible; I say we go look for him.â€
Harry: - “Yea I agree, I’ll get ‘Mione and we’ll set off.â€
He walks over to Hermione’s tent and pokes his head inside; the scream that leaves his throat is terrifying. He stumbles backwards and falls to the floor. The other girls rush over and take a peek inside, were soon after they both recoil backwards, for were their good friend once lay was now a bloody mass of what remained of her. Shannen throws up and Holly soon follows. Regaining his composure first Harry stands and retreats to his tent, returning seconds later with an oil lantern and some matches. After opening the lantern, he poured it over the whole tent and struck a match. As the friends watched the tent burn, they huddled together, three friends in shock.